Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini believes that Juventus star Paulo Dybala is the ‘new Lionel Messi’ as he continues to shine in Turin.
The 22-year-old joined the Bianconeri from the Sicilian outfit last summer, and has gone to score 12 goals and provide seven assists in 20 Serie A appearances so far this season.
In turn, it has led to praise from all quarters as he scored the winner against Roma on Sunday night to lift his side back to within two points of league leaders Napoli.
Zamparini has insisted that the youngster has proven that he is worth the €40m fee that he was sold for before the season and will go on to triple his value in the coming years.
“I sold him for €32m plus €8m [in bonuses],” Zamparini reminded Rai Radio.
“When I sold him for those numbers people talked about a scandal. Now people say that [Juventus general manager Giuseppe] Marotta is a phenomenon!
“What is he worth? €100m: Dybala is the young Messi.”
Meanwhile, the outspoken patron has dismissed a case ordering him to pay €15m to Instituto, insisting that the South American agents involved in the deal “should be in jail” as FIFA have already moved to get rid of them owning the rights to players.
It remains to be seen what the outcome of the situation is, as Zamparini will be desperate to avoid further distractions as his side continue to fight to avoid being dragged into a relegation battle this season.